Arrests follow string of thefts from unlocked cars

TURNERS FALLS — A string of thefts from unlocked vehicles in the downtown and lower hill area ended in the arrest of two local men early Sunday morning.

Montague Sgt. Christopher Bonnett said the string of thefts began behind the Shady Glen Diner on Avenue A and continued through downtown, including Second and I streets, then up the hill from Third Street onto Prospect then Central Street and Chestnut Lane, where a resident called police at 5:03 a.m. to report two men entering cars.

Bonnett said he and patrolman James Deery responded and found the suspects on Park Street where they had cut through from the Parent Child Development Center yard off Central Street. Bonnett caught one suspect after a foot chase, and police found the second a short time later with the help of a K-9 after he ran into the woods.

Bonnett said the men were trying door handles and entering any vehicle found to be unlocked. Bonnett said some items were taken, but said he was unsure if everything had been recovered and declined to specify the items.

Arrested were Jonathan Holway, 19, of 12 Park Street and Joseph Auger, 22, of 84 L Street. Both are charged with 11 counts of breaking and entering into a vehicle at night, larceny, and possession of a Class E drug. The possession charge stems from prescription drugs, among the items they allegedly stole, Bonnett said.

Holway was free on personal recognizance and Auger held on $300 bail Sunday afternoon, arraignment today in Greenfield District Court.